Beating of S.C. inmate by sheriff's deputy caught on video tape

The S.C. State Law Enforcement Division and the FBI are investigating the beating of an inmate at the Kershaw County Detention Center, which resulted in the firing of one sheriff's deputy.

The inmate, Charles Edwin Shelley, 38, was struck several times Thursday around his shins by Sgt. Oddie Tribble Jr., said Capt. David Thomley of the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department. Tribble, a 12-year veteran of the force, was fired Friday, Thomley said.

Tribble hit the inmate at least 25 times with a baton, according to a video of the beating released by SLED through a Freedom of Information request. The video footage is from two security cameras outside a carport where officers drop off inmates to be booked at the detention center.

Shelley remained in the Kershaw County Detention Center on Monday on charges of driving on a suspended license and giving false information to a police officer, Thomley said. He suffered a leg fracture, cuts and bruises, said SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd.

The Kershaw County jail incident is one of three recent reports of law enforcement officers assaulting inmates in South Carolina. SLED and the FBI are investigating all three cases for possible civil rights violations, according to a statement released Monday by SLED.

The other two cases are:

The July arrest of two S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice correctional officers who were fired for allegedly assaulting a juvenile

The July arrest of a Sumter Police Department officer who allegedly assaulted a suspect during a traffic stop. That officer also has been fired.